PM misses out on Australia Day BBQ

Australia Day isn’t Australia Day without a BBQ – except for the prime minister.

Malcolm Turnbull admitted he didn’t get a chance to enjoy a snag on Tuesday between a hectic schedule of appearances in Canberra.

“I haven’t done a public or indeed a private barbecue today – so the sausages have been safe,” he told The Project on Network Ten.

“We had the flag-raising ceremony and a citizenship ceremony, and then Lucy and I went for a great walk right up to the top of Red Hill and said hi to some people up there.”

Asked if he’d learnt from his predecessor Tony Abbott’s proclivity for eating on camera, most notably a raw brown onion, Mr Turnbull said: “There is a lot of things better off not done on camera and eating is probably one of them.”

The prime minister was also asked what he could do to recognise surfer Mick Fanning for punching a shark, now that knighthoods have gone.

Apart from admiration, “a good Aussie gift; a slab of Cooper’s would be appreciated,” he said.